Chapter 19: Use Spiritual Lures Summary and Analysis

Robert Greene tells readers that spiritual matters really are a sexual turn on, and that they should be used with romantic come ons. This is the flip side of the tradition of men seeking romance in churches because "thats where you'll find good women." He tells the tale of how Rasputin seduced many female lovers during private, spiritually oriented meetings. Since people often prefer religions that jibe with their own sexual tendencies, inclinations and societal prescriptions, Greene advises that "earthy and cynical people" are not best wooed with Christian piety or with the occult.

People like to feel lofty and righteous at least as much as they are drawn to naughtiness or to evil and the dark side of life. The pain and tension that people face as a consequence of differing values and their...